The kids waited patiently to board the train. The computer assigns seats, so we didn’t have to concern ourselves with getting “good” seats.

On the way up the mountain, Jeff, Meredith and Emelie sat facing Kenny and me.

The seats “face” each other in sets. One side of the train has two-seaters and the other side (the side we were on) has three-seaters.

There actually is plenty of room for one’s feet, but I made the mistake of propping my foot up between Meredith and Emelie and before I knew it, everyone piled their legs atop mine.

Smart Alecks.

We may be strange, but at the very least, we are rarely bored.

While we waited for everyone to load, Jeff and Meredith reviewed the map we purchased for a quarter at the ticket counter. It was a basic map, but it detailed the various places the conductor pointed-out on the ride up.

As Meredith and Jeff previewed the journey and Emelie video-taped, Kenny held the railway tickets for me.

Emelie took video footage on her iPod the entire way up the mountain.

It made me VERY nervous to watch how lightly she held her iPod. I was completely prepared for it to drop out the railway window.

Thankfully, that never happened.

The Cog Railway takes its riders through four different “life zones”, from lush, high plains to fragile, alpine tundra. Throughout the trip we saw cascading streams and wound through a steep canyon full of gigantic boulders and tall pines.

Our conductor was entertaining, giving us bits of information and history about the mountain and the railway.

As we went through beautiful aspen groves we learned something new from our conductor.

The Aspen trees are all connected by the same underground root system. The largest known fully-connected Aspen trees are in a 106 acre grove in Utah; it has been called the largest organism in the world.

For the first few miles of the ride the railway runs along Ruxton Creek. The conductor pointed out the Englemann and Colorado Blue Spruce trees. The tracks begin the first steep descent as it passes through the first set of boulders and then levels out again.

We were so thankful we chose to go our first day in Manitou Springs – the weather was perfectly clear with hardly a cloud in the sky. Our second day it rained and was grey and cloudy, so the view would have been significantly different.

This rocky area is called “The Lion’s Den” as mountain lions have supposedly been seen sunning on the rocks there in the summer.

The last 3 miles of the ride put us above the timberline.

The timberline is the area where trees cannot grow because there isn’t enough moisture to sustain them due to the permafrost under the surface (the ground remains frozen year-round).

The view here is absolutely unobstructed.

After the timberline the temperature dropped rapidly.

Coats were pulled-on…

…and after Emelie shot her video, the window went up!

The terrain changed significantly as we climbed higher and higher – see the timberline?

Can you see the Continental Divide? It looks like a line of low-lying clouds.

At 12,129 feet above sea level we reached Windy Point, the old station house, and we knew we were near the summit. Most of the railway is on a single track, but there are switches at Minnehaha (lower on the mountain) and Windy Point to allow multiple trains to use the railway at the same time.

We didn’t pass a descending train, but the conductor said it often happens here.

We were allowed 30 minutes at the top of Pikes Peak. You might think this is not a very long time, but the railway does this because many people begin to feel the effects of high altitude (slight nausea, headache) after this amount of time.

After getting off the train there was a mass exodus to the restrooms. Not realizing there were restrooms in the gift shop, many of us went to the restrooms the conductor pointed-out as we neared the summit.

And those restrooms were, for some reason, without electricity.

There were no windows so it was very dark in there. Thinking it was the only restroom available, a mass of women with cell phones assisted each other into the stalls, holding shining phones over the stall door to assist whoever was relieving themselves within.

It was a riot – peeing in the dark.

And we all got to know each other just a bit more intimately than we otherwise might have on this particular ride!

Once out of the restroom, eyes no longer floating, we took in the views – very quickly. From the summit it’s possible to see four states.

This photo was taken from the High Altitude Research Station – behind us is a view of the snow-covered peaks of the Continental Divide.

It was a cold, cold day at Pikes Peak. When we hit the top it was 17 degrees with a windchill of -20 degrees.

We Texans aren’t used to that kind of cold and didn’t last long. Emelie didn’t even take video on the summit because her fingers were too cold to work.

After consuming coffee/hot cocoa and the famous Pikes Peak donuts in the warm Summit House, we checked-out the gift shop (Kenny got his first pocket-knife) and then headed out to the North side door to see the view there and capture a different family photo.

Shortly thereafter it was time to load for our descent.

There was another wait as everyone boarded. At this point I was heard saying something like, “Secrets aren’t very nice!”

No one listened to me.

Before we took off Emelie and Kenny switched seats.

Kenny wanted a different view – and he got one.

Even though we had already seen the view, it was as beautiful and breathtaking the second time as the first.

About halfway down we began a game. I started a story with two sentences and we went around our “circle” clockwise with everyone adding one to two sentences.

If you haven’t done this on road trips, try it – it’s fun to watch how quickly a storyline can change from one person to another.

As we pulled into the station, Jeff pointed out how his water bottle crushed in on itself coming down off the mountain. Yet another teaching moment.

Huh?

Emelie’s iPod lost its charge before we left the Summit, but she was able to catch the ride up to Pikes Peak. Enjoy the video!

With Pikes Peak under our belt, we headed to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings before leaving Colorado for Wyoming. Watch for that post on Monday!

Heather Sanders

Hi. I’m Heather, a freelance writer living in Huntsville, a smallish town on the tail-end of the East Texas Pineywoods.
Twenty years ago, I married Jeff, the love of my life, and shortly after, we chose to “go forth and multiply.” We have three kids: Emelie, Meredith and Kenny. We homeschool. It's what we do, and it works for us.
Tired of feeling overwhelmed, we recently "faithsized" our family into a 960 square foot lake cabin in need of renovation. I write at HeatherSanders.com about faith and simplifying your desires so you can be content right here and right now

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Comments

What a wonderful adventure you have created. Thank you for sharing. I wish you continued safe and fun travels.

http://baja-greenawalts-cozybooknook.blogspot.com/ DeLynne

Looks like fun! Can you tell us about Emelie’s coat? I’ve just made one similar and would love to know more about it.

Linda in MN

The “continuing story” is something our family always did when campaing – as we sit around a campfire in the evening. It is an amazing “game”. I absolutely am loving your trip. thank you so much for sharing with us.

http://corefoundations.wordpress.com Christine

We were in Arizona last summer and there were whole swaths of land that had trees just lying around. (Made us think a tornado had struck.) We learned that aspens are indeed a singular organism that are susceptible to a certain “disease”. When it strikes it can wipe out an entire forest!

CateS

Thanks for sharing!!! This is almost, but not quite, as good as being there with you!! Darn, I am ready to ROAD TRIP!!!

Kati in CT

What a fun adventure! I love the picture of the crushed water bottle. I always find it amusing when I can find a relationship that demonstrates PV=nRT that I learned back in high school but it seems that the relationship worked backwards in your case. As temperature increased, wouldn’t the volume have increased as well? Maybe I don’t remember high school as well as I thought I did.

Sabrina

It really looks a great adventure – I would have loved to watch the video, but can’t as it “contains content from SME” (darn music right holders who don’t allow their vids or music to be used in Germany). You don’t think you could upload a version without the music, do you?

Elle

I’m really enjoying this series of posts. Looking forward to the rest of the trip!

Angela

You picked a perfect day to go–no clouds! I lived in Colorado Springs for years and it’s hard to plan activities around the weather, which changes every time you turn your head. Beautiful pictures!

http://www.sjmswing.blogspot.com Jennifer

Hello!
I have been enjoying the posts about your vacation! My husband, two children and I moved to North Carolina a little more than two years ago…but we are native Coloradoans. I was 38 before I moved from my home state and seeing this last post made me grin. We visited Pike’s Peak many times…I actually met my husband in Idaho Springs while still in high school, which is a small mountain town not far from where you were. I have home schooled our children for eight years now and really like reading what you’ve shared online about your experiences. Tell Emelie I love the videos! Hope your travel continue to be fun and safe!

Mandy

I was so excited to read this adventure! We too have done the cog up Pikes Peak 2 times and would love to do it again! We live in New York and visit my mother in law in Colorado Springs occasionally and it wouldn’t be a trip there without going up the Peak! Manitou is so lovely I hope you checked that out also. My favorites on the peak are the rock formations and the little house people live in with that super long driveway! I hope you finished off your trip to Colorado Springs with a visit to the Garden of the Gods also….it’s breathtaking!

http://naranjostwm.blogspot.com/ WendyN

I am so loving your trip, thanks for sharing. Emelie’s videos are fantastic! We were at Pikes Peak last June and it is gorgeous country! I heard from a friend they had snow in Denver last night, Brrr….Stay warm and enjoy the trip!

http://cowpattysurprise.blogspot.com Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise)

All this Ozark Farm Chick can say is …”what a ride baby!!!: Woohoo, what breathtakingly beautiful scenery. What a cold lookin’ Popsicle family! What fun and excitement ya’ll brought to my day viewin’ your wonderful video. Feels, like I just stepped off the train. Thanks for lettin’ an old gal tag along with ya up the Peak. :o)

From the delighted hills and hollers of the not so borin’ beautiful Missouri Ponderosa, ya’ll have a wonderfully blessed and ‘educationally fun’ trip now, ya hear??? :o)

http://ahnkadragon.blogspot.com ahnkadragon

Wow! Amazing pictures. Really want to go on a roadtrip now. My family always drove from point A to point B with no plans to stop unless it was for a fill-up and potty break. I always hated passing signs like “SEE RUBY FALLS” etc on the way to Grandma’s. Completely have to plan a trip. I want to see Ruby Falls darnit! LOl!

http://www.se7en.org.za se7en

Just loving every second of your trip!!!

Jess

It looks like you guys are having a BLAST! I would love to take my family there someday, and by the way: YOU look fantastic!!

Beverley

It looks like your having a great time and thanks for sharing!

Margaret

Reading about your family adventure has become the highlight of my day! What a wonderful opportunity!

http://blog.therustedchain.com Beki - TheRustedChain

I lived in Colorado (even in Manitou!) for years and had no idea that the aspens were connected by a root system.

I love Emelies funky orange sweater!

http://FantastykVoyage.blogspot.com Fantastyk Voyager

Last month I visited Manitou Springs. Wonderful little town! We collected water from all of their springs. I’m glad your train ride went well. I drove up to Pike’s Peak one time and had a horrible case of altitude sickness and I live at 7,000 feet. Isn’t it just beautiful??

http://www.iampro-life.blogspot.com Pam

What a fun and wonderful teaching opportunity…. makes me want to take the kids on a “school trip”! 🙂

Tanya

We did this on our honeymoon 2 years ago! It was wonderful, but our train only made it to windy point- they recently had a storm and there was too much snow for the train to go to the summit. We did get to go through a part where they’d blasted the snow with dynamite- we had to put our windows up and there was snow taller than the train! You could see blast marks from the explosives they used to clear a path for the train. My husband & I plan on going back on a later anniversary and hopefully we will make it to the summit then!

JJ

Thanks for sharing your excellent adventure! Emelie…love your style and your videos…you remind me of my daughter when she was your age (no iPods back then though). Safe travels.

Mai

WOW! What a wonderful road trip. I can’t wait to read about the rest. You’re showing us how beautiful America is !!!! Will probably have to do the same with the family one day. Thanks!!!

http://justforyoubyjenn.com jenn nahrstadt

your travelogues are very entertaining and informative! thanks for all the effort you’re putting in to “take us along” for the ride.

btw, i love how relaxed your children are in front of the camera. these pictures will be great mementos of moments captured, and personalities during this stage of life expressed.